English Conditionals: 2nd Conditional

What would you do if you were a millionaire?

Hello! A few days ago we talked about the use of the First Conditional in English, and today we’ll talk about the use of the Second Conditional. I’ll keep the format of these posts similar so it’s easy to compare them. The last post had a video to help illustrate how to use the tense, and so will this one. Listen to this song by Beyoncé and see what you can understand (if you want, you can also follow the lyrics here):

This is a very popular song to illustrate the second conditional, and my students and I have used it in different classes. So, the big question: In the song, is there a real possibility that Beyoncé is a man? No, there isn’t. So in this case, we’re talking about an unreal possibility. That’s what the Second Conditional is all about:

The Second Conditional (Unreal, Improbable Possibility)

Second conditional phrases are used in situations that are not likely to happen. Similar to the first conditional, they have two parts:

1. The “if” part (also called the “if phrase,” “if clause,” or “condition”)2. The “fantasy” part (also called the “would clause” or “result”)

For example, I can say:

If a day had 25 hours, everyone would sleep more.

Obviously, this is an impossible, unreal situation because a day always has 24 hours. But it’s nice to imagine alternate realities sometimes, isn’t it? Like in the first conditional, second conditional phrases can usually be inverted:

Everyone would sleep more if a day had 25 hours.

In both sentences, the “if” part expresses the improbable condition (a day with 25 hours), and the result expresses the outcome (everyone would sleep more).

In the second conditional, the condition is written in a past tense (past simple or past continuous), and the result is written using would/could/should/might + a base verb. Also notice that it’s acceptable or at least common to use was or were with the “if” phrase:

If I found a million dollars, I would travel around the world. If Jane had more friends, she might not be so strange at parties. Tom would be a better basketball player if he were taller. If Costa Rica won the World Cup, the entire world would be amazed.

Can you complete the following phrases?
If I had a Lamborghini, ___________ .
Mary would feel happy if ___________ .
If Jake never had to work again, ___________ .
I might be better at English if ___________ .

As a side note, it’s important to mention that there are some situations where both the first and second conditional are possible. It often depends on the speaker’s attitude or perspective. For example, let’s talk about an iPhone:

If I buy an iPhone, I will sell my old phone.

In this case I’m using the First Conditional, which indicates that there’s a real possibility I will buy an iPhone. But what if I don’t want to buy a phone, and I only want to speak theoretically? In that case, I would use the Second Conditional:

If I bought an iPhone, I would sell my old phone.

Notice that the sentences are very similar, so the conditional tense can often indicate the speaker’s attitude about the possibility. If you want more examples and summaries of the second conditional, check out this page or this page.

For more practice, listen to the song again and try to find some phrases that use the second conditional (there are a lot–remember that I would can be contracted to I’d). Here are the lyrics (I’ll put the second conditional phrases at the end of this post so you can check your answers):

Beyoncé – “If I Were A Boy”

If I were a boy even just for a day
I’d roll out of bed in the morning
And throw on what I wanted and go
Drink beer with the guys
And chase after girls
I’d kick it with who I wanted
And I’d never get confronted for it
‘Cause they’d stick up for me

If I were a boy
I think I could understand
How it feels to love a girl
I swear I’d be a better man
I’d listen to her
‘Cause I know how it hurts
When you lose the one you wanted
‘Cause he’s taking you for granted
And everything you had got destroyed

If I were a boy
I would turn off my phone
Tell everyone it’s broken
So they’d think that I was sleeping alone
I’d put myself first
And make the rules as I go
‘Cause I know that she’d be faithful
Waiting for me to come home, to come home

If I were a boy
I think I could understand
How it feels to love a girl
I swear I’d be a better man
I’d listen to her
‘Cause I know how it hurts
When you lose the one you wanted
‘Cause he’s taking you for granted
And everything you had got destroyed

It’s a little too late for you to come back
Say it’s just a mistake
Think I’d forgive you like that
If you thought I would wait for you
You thought wrong

But you’re just a boy
You don’t understand
And you don’t understand, oh
How it feels to love a girl
Someday you’ll wish you were a better man
You don’t listen to her
You don’t care how it hurts
Until you lose the one you wanted
‘Cause you’re taking her for granted
And everything you had got destroyed
But you’re just a boy

How many second conditional phrases did you find? Many start with the phrase “If I were a boy,” although she doesn’t repeat the “if” clause or even the “I’d” for every result:

“If I were a boy…
–I’d roll out of bed in the morning
-(I’d) throw on what I wanted
-(I’d) go drink beer with the guys”

“If I were a boy, I think I could understand how it feels to love a girl…”

For some of the instances, the people involved change:

“If I were a boy, I would turn off my phone, (and) tell everyone it’s broken so they would think that I was sleeping alone.”

“If you thought I would wait for you, you thought wrong.”

And in some of the instances, the “if clause” is actually not even included; that’s common with second conditional phrases, especially in songs:

“…you’ll wish you were a better man”

Many other songs use second conditional phrases– do you know of any others? I like Barenaked Ladies’ “If I Had $1,000,000” and “If” by Red Hot Chili Peppers (but neither have videos).

So, that’s it for now! As usual, if you have any questions or problems, please leave a comment below or contact me.

Thanks for reading, and check back soon for information about the third conditional– yes, there’s a third one, too! Have a great day!

Sitzman

Hey! I’m Ryan Sitzman, the person in charge of Sitzman ABC. If you want to know more about me, you can check out my profile on Google or go to my personal site, RyanSitzman.com. You can also click on any of the redundant little boxes to the left and it should take you to my profiles for all kinds of social networks. Thanks!

15 Comments

Now I have a weird pairing of songs running through my head: the folk favorite “If I Had a Hammer” alongside “If I Were a Rich Man” from “Fiddler on the Roof.” Somehow I don’t think this is the food for thought you intended!

But seriously, I love that you’re tackling difficult grammar concepts. This is great reading even for native speakers.

Thanks for the comment! I actually came across those two songs when I was looking for conditionals, but I thought students might like Beyoncé more (especially because students have brought in that song in two different classes I’ve taught). But those are also great songs, although I’d have a hard time with a mash-up of the two playing in my head!

I’m glad that you liked the post. If I had more time, I would do even more of them. They take quite a long time to write, so I’m glad that someone reads them!

Thanks for the comment. Actually, that was sort of what I was aiming for (or at least I THINK that was my intention… I post some of these blogs pretty late in the night) : to show that in normal speech, it’s not as cut and dry as it is in an explanation, and that even native speakers aren’t going to strictly follow the rules all the time.

But looking at it now, I see that it probably just made things more confusing, so I’ve changed that bit. Thanks for the tip!

Homework: If I had a Lamborghini, I would learn how to drive and then I’d drive it.Mary would feel happy if she had no debts with Scotiabank.If Jake never had to work again, he wouldn’t have to wake up early anymore.I might be better at English if I practice it more. 🙂

The sentences look good! Just one comment, though. To be strictly second conditional, the last one would be “practiceD,” not practice, since we’d need a past tense verb in the “if clause.” However, if you talked to “normal” speakers in “normal” circumstances, even they might say the sentence in the present tense. We don’t always use our conditional tenses “by the book.” 🙂

Thanks for your comments. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, too.

To your question:

You’re right, “puss” is a confusing word. As you noted, sometimes it can mean “cat,” like the movie “Puss in Boots.” It’s generally not vulgar, but it depends on the context.

“Pussy” can be more problematic, though. It can also mean “cat,” like when someone says “pussycat.” In that case, it’s normal. But it can also be a slang word that means “vagina,” and in that case it’s generally offensive and/or vulgar. So just pay attention to when and how the word is used.

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